A Guardian's Fate (Book #2)

Chapter Fifty-Six

Junar 1st

The first day of halcyon

The feeling of the sun beaming against his skin was such a natural feeling. Henry relished in it as he lied on the grass with his eyes closed.

This was his kind of weather. It made sense he'd been born in it. Yet the thought made him wrinkle his nose. He would turn twenty-one in a month and seven days. If he were the Prince of Aristol, he'd be eligible for his coronation. Elouise still had to wait another year. Considering how well she'd been handling the People's Word (which her father had been allowing her to do on her own per her request), she was more than ready for the crown.

"I think... I think I've got it!" Ivy chirped.

Henry peeked an eye open and winced as he stared right into the sunlight. He rolled over onto his stomach and blinked a few times until his cousin came into view. She sat on a bed of wildflowers and held up the flower crown she'd been troubling herself with for a while.

"There you go," he praised. "I told you it was simple."

Ivy delicately placed the crown atop her head and smiled. "It's always simple for those who've been making them for years."

"I learned as a child so I could make them for Elouise."

Ivy put her hands on her chest and gaped at him. "That's the sweetest thing. Are you in love with her?"

"I believe I was when I was younger... or whatever being in love means for a child. I thought she was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. She still is one of the most beautiful."

"One of?" Ivy wiggled her eyebrows. "Who else is included?"

Henry felt his cheeks become hot, and he swallowed hard. "Women are simply beautiful." She tossed flowers at him, and he closed his eyes again, feeling a few of them land in his hair. He smiled at her until he noticed the light slowly dwindle from her eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing at all." She suddenly giggled again and turned her head. She wasn't as horrible of a liar as Elouise was, but Henry didn't press her.

He picked a flower out of his hair and watched it drop into the grass. Then he flinched when he felt Ivy place something else on his head.

She grinned down at him. "I made you one!"

Henry sat up and readjusted the crown.

Ivy gave him a nod of approval. "A crown fit for a prince!" She tapped her chin and puckered her lips. "Maybe I should also make one for Eldon. His knighting ceremony is in just a few days." As she started questioning to herself which colors would go best for Eldon, Henry lost himself in his thoughts.

Love was such a complicated word. Although he loved many, he didn't think he would ever fall in love.

No, that wasn't it.

He couldn't believe anyone would ever fall in love with him. And that didn't matter, anyway. He felt fine standing by and watching his friends be happy. That made him happy, too.

Henry sighed and removed the crown from his head. He ran his forefinger along the ties Ivy had done to keep the flowers together. He remembered the first time he made a crown for Elouise. He'd done so in secret to surprise her. After he finished, he went searching for her.

Elouise, months away from turning seven, was perched on the edge of the fountain and singing some song her mother had made up for her a few weeks prior. Henry had started to run toward her, eager to show her what he'd made for her. And he tripped on a crack on the cobble, falling forward.